1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and in particular to a technology effectively applied to the liquid crystal display device (a liquid crystal display module) provided with a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) connected to the terminal section of the liquid crystal display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display modules each having a small-sized liquid crystal display panel with the number of sub-pixels as small as 240×320×3 in color display are widely used as the display sections of portable equipment such as cellular phones.
The liquid crystal display module used as the display section of portable equipment such as a cellular phone is provided with a liquid crystal display panel and a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) connected to the liquid crystal display panel.
The liquid crystal display panel has a configuration including a first substrate (hereinafter referred to as a TFT substrate) provided with pixel electrodes, thin film transistors, and soon, a second substrate (hereinafter referred to as a CF substrate) provided with a color filter and so on, a seal member disposed between the TFT substrate and the CF substrate and for bonding the TFT substrate and the CF substrate with each other, a liquid crystal inlet port provided to a part of the seal member, and a liquid crystal material input into and encapsulated in the space between the TFT substrate and the CF substrate and surrounded by the seal member.
Each of the TFT substrate and the CF substrate has a rectangular planer shape, and is, for example, formed of an oblong having long sides and short sides. The TFT substrate is configured to have long sides longer than the long sides of the CF substrate to have an area (hereinafter referred to as a non-overlapping area) not overlapping the CF substrate on the side of one of the two short sides located opposite to each other. In the non-overlapping area on the TFT substrate, there is mounted a semiconductor chip including a circuit for performing drive control of the liquid crystal display panel, and further, a plurality of external connection terminals is disposed along the one short side (the short side on the side of the non-overlapping area) of the TFT substrate.
The liquid crystal inlet port is provided on the side of the other short side (the short side opposite to the non-overlapping area) of the TFT substrate. The seal member has both functions of bonding the TFT substrate and the CF substrate with each other and of inputting and encapsulating the liquid crystal material, and is configured to have a frame part (a first part) disposed between the TFT substrate and the CF substrate on the periphery thereof like a frame and a pair of inlet port parts (second parts) extending from the frame part at both sides of the liquid crystal inlet port towards the opposite short side of the TFT substrate.
The flexible printed circuit board is configured to have a plurality of wiring lines each extending to traverse a first side of the TFT substrate, and connected to the non-overlapping area of the TFT substrate at one end thereof. One ends of the plurality of wiring lines are arranged in parallel to each other corresponding respectively to a plurality of external connection terminals disposed in the non-overlapping area of the TFT substrate, and are electrically and mechanically connected respectively to the plurality of external connection terminals with, for example, anisotropic conductive films (ACF).
It should be noted that as a related art document related to the present invention, the following Patent Document 1 can be cited.
JP-A-11-109381 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technology of disposing an inlet port formed of the seal member on a second side opposite to a first side provided with a group of terminals, and disposing the group of terminals and the inlet port diametrically opposite to each other, thereby preventing the problems caused mainly by the seal member.